A Day At The Races Casselberry-style

Political pulse - The metro scene

A Casselberry City Council meeting scheduled for May 3 has been delayed a week so commissioners can join other officials at the opening ceremony of the Seminole Race Track.

The move, city officials said, was in support of one of the city's biggest businesses.

''They put on a really nice dinner. The opening is a lavish affair attended by dignitaries from around the county, Orlando and even some state representatives,'' said one city official.

The commission has rescheduled the first meeting in May for the past several years ''to accommodate the hospitality and graciousness of the Seminole Race Track in its opening evening of business,'' a city memo said.

THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE

THEY DARE TO LOWER RATES. It's not odd to find opposition to a fee increase. But Lake Mary officials are getting some heat over plans to lower the city's water rates.

William Segal, a board member of the St. Johns River Water Management District, wrote Lake Mary commissioners that he was ''dismayed'' to learn of the planned reduction.

''It is my belief that by reducing the cost of water we are sending the wrong message to the citizenry, and I believe it is counterproductive to our goal of conservation,'' Segal wrote.

He asks that the city at least leave the rate alone.

Lake Mary City Manager John Litton said the city would have more money than it needs without the decrease and asked, ''Why should we collect more than we need."

The average homeowner will pay about $1 less a month.

ARE SIGN RULES THAT BAD?

JE NE SAIS PAS, REALLY. Seminole County commissioners bought time on the sign regulation issue by what is known as Putting It Up For More Study. But while Seminole businesses protested a 15-foot maximum sign height, other jurisdictions go much further.

In Quebec, commercial outdoor signs must be in French, regardless of the language spoken by customers.

English is permitted on indoor signs so long as the type is smaller than for French signs.

Some states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, ban billboards, and a growing number of businesses everywhere employ human advertising as an alternative to signs.

''You have people dressed up like mattresses and hamburgers,'' said Kirk Brimley, a sign regulation analyst.

In Los Angeles, on the other hand, billboards are seen as high art.

WHITHER JENNIFER KELLEY?

STILL DEALING WITH MAIL. As a county commissioner, Jennifer Kelley was accustomed to receiving loads of mail. Now she's helping to generate it.

After losing her re-election bid last year, Kelley joined her son in running Sunrise Marketing Services, a direct mail service in Sanford. Clients include auto dealers, insurance companies and Lynx, the public bus program.

Kelley said she misses public office ''except when I start reading the paper.''